The Scottish Registrar General's Annual Reports have been used to study trends in mortality from stroke in Scotland during 1950-1986 in those aged 45 to 74. In 1950 the age-adjusted mortality rate was 347.4 per 100,000 population for men and 360.8 for women, falling to 199.6 for men and 155.8 for women in 1986. This downward trend has increased from 1976 for males. The average annual decline in age-adjusted mortality from stroke over the 37-year period was 4.0 per 100,000 in males and 5.5 in females. This reduction in death rates was proportionally higher for women compared with men in all age groups over 55 years. As with cardiovascular deaths, mortality from stroke was lower in the east than in the central region and west of Scotland. The reduction in mortality resulted in a substantial 'saving' of lives, estimated at 12,500 between 1980 and 1984.